Irishman praised for saving little boy’s life

AN Irishman who saved a toddler from drowning in a New Zealand pool was being hailed as a national hero yesterday.

Lifeguard Keith Hennessy, 31, from Cork, pulled three-year-old Ali Ben Brahim’s lifeless body from a public pool in Wellington last week.

The boy, who had been using an inflatable ring, was found face down in the city’s 1.2-metre-deep Regional Aquatic Centre after his mother left him briefly to go to the toilet.

He had been submerged for over a minute and had no pulse.

Mr Hennessy spoke last night of how he brought the boy back from death’s door.

“I heard a scream and this chap was in the process of picking the child out of the water,” he said. “I grabbed the child from him. I noticed he was blue in the face and that the colour was travelling down his chest.”

Mr Hennessy started CPR but the boy’s chest didn’t rise. “I started compressions. I gave him 30 and water shot out of his nose and mouth. There was some blood too.”

Ali’s mother had to be restrained while Mr Hennessy battled to save his life.

“I turned his head to the side and poured water out. He then went into a fit and I had to hold him in a butterfly grip to stop him from biting his tongue. A colleague arrived with oxygen and we put it on. Then his eyes popped open.”

Ali was rushed to hospital where doctors said it was a miracle he had been saved.

Ali’s father, Mr Ben Brahim, said his family would be forever grateful.

“I’m just so glad Ali is alive. It could have been such a tragedy. We are just so grateful,” he said.

Wellington City Council plans to honour Mr Hennessy in the coming days.